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£59m boost to wipe out polio
Polio is a major problem in Africa |
The UK government is to pump £59m into the international drive to eradicate polio.
The contribution was announced by International Development Secretary Clare Short on Wednesday.
Ms Short said that the eradication of the disease is possible within the next five years.
Clare Short will announce the cash |
"What a fantastic thing this is - that within a few years, a disease that has killed millions of people over the course of human history can become a thing of the past. But it can and it will in a very short period of time."
Two grants are to be made:
- £38.8m to the Pulse Polio Initiative (PPI) of the Indian Government
- £20m to the World Health Organization (WHO) Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) which targets the disease in six priority countries in Africa.
Cases have fallen dramatically
Polio destroys nerve cells and causes the muscles to shrivel and die, leading to severe disability.
Since the 1988 World Health assembly established the goal to eradicate the disease, the number of cases has fallen by more than 90% world-wide, from an estimated 350,000 in 1988 to a maximum of 25,000 in 1998.
 What a fantastic thing this is - that within a few years, a disease that has killed millions of people over the course of human history can become a thing of the past  |
| Clare Short, International Development Secretary |
India poses a special challenge as the largest poliovirus reservoir and the country with the largest number of children born each year (25 million).
The six priority countries in Africa are either major reservoirs of wild poliovirus (Nigeria, Ethiopia) or those affected by conflict (Somalia, Sudan) or those that have both (Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola).
Intensive vaccination programmes are needed |
The aim is to achieve zero incidence of polio in India and the six priority countries in Africa by 2000/2001, with certification of eradication in 2004/2005.
Clare Short argued that "massive progress is possible".
She said: "This means each of us is culpable if we fail to do what we can to seize the opportunity.
"Thirty years ago, smallpox and polio stalked the world as major killers. Smallpox which had previously affected 10 million people a year, claimed its last victim in 1977. We can and we must do the same with that other dreadful disease: polio."
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